Universal Audio Releases Topline Vocal Tune With Low Latency Mode ‘Promises Your Vocals Perfectly In Tune From The First Take’


Universal Audio has announced the release of Topline Vocal Tune, a new native vocal pitch correction plugin that lifts the vocal tuner from the company’s Topline Vocal Suite plugin and makes it available as a standalone tool.

The company launched Topline Vocal Suite in 2024 as an all-in-one vocal chain, offering producers analogue-emulating preamps, saturation, compression, EQ and a multi-effects section alongside its vocal tuning capabilities.

Topline Vocal Tune strips that back to the tuning engine alone, which UA says offers “ultra-low-latency” performance, allowing vocalists to perform live through the plugin or monitor pitched vocals without delay while recording.

Here’s Topline Vocal Tune Walkthrough Setup and Low Latency Mode:

According to Universal Audio, Topline Vocal Tune can handle everything from transparent and natural-sounding correction to the recognizably hard-tuned effects associated with hip-hop, R&B and pop.

At the core of the plugin is a single Tune control for dialling in correction speed, ranging from subtle to fully hard-tuned. The Natural section adds Elastic and Sustain controls, which are intended to keep a vocal in tune while maintaining the slides, vibrato and tonal character that pitch correction can often mess with.

Topline Vocal Tune’s Shift panel features Pitch and Formant controls for conventional pitch- and formant-shifting that can be blended in with a Mix dial, while the MIDI Repitching function lets you input melodies and harmonies through a MIDI keyboard to retune your vocals with your playing.

The plugin’s Topline Key Finder detects the key and scale of your session automatically, saving time on set-up, and the Scale Define mode can be used to lock pitch correction to custom scales.

“When singers feel good in their headphones, that’s when great takes happen,” says Julian Prindle, Senior Product Designer at Universal Audio. “Topline helps artists stay confident and in the moment while giving producers everything they need to shape vocals behind the scenes.”

Stacy Epps Tries Topline Vocal Tune In A Real Session:

As with the original Topline Vocal Suite, Topline Vocal Tune is native-only, with no Apollo or UAD hardware integration available. It’s available for macOS and Windows in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats.

UAD Topline Vocal Tune is available now, and priced at $99 with an introductory discount of $79. It’s also included in the UAD Spark subscription, and there’s a further discount for owners of Topline Vocal Suite.

Find out more on Universal Audio website.

 

Embodme Introduces ERAE Sound, ‘First Synth Designed For An Expressive Surface’


Today,  Embodme has introduced ERAE Sound, a new software synthesizer that they describe as “The first synthesizer designed for an expressive surface. Not adapted — built from scratch.”

ERAE Sound features 83 instruments, each designed to offer its own ‘feel’ and way of being played.

Here’s a demo of a variety of the sounds:

While ERAE Sound is optimized for the ERAE Touch, it’s compatible with any MPE controller, and works with all major DAWs — Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Bitwig and more.


*Note: Full MPE expression (slide, pressure, release velocity) requires an MPE-compatible DAW. It works as a standard instrument in non-MPE DAWs.

ERAE Sound is available now for €79 / $89 USD / £69 GBP.

How To Make A Toy Keyboard Sound Like An Orchestra


In this video, Budapest-based synthesist vekoni demonstrates why you should be limited by your gear – creating an ambient orchestral composition using just a 40 year-old Casio SA-2 keyboard and an iPhone running some effects plugins.

The performance makes creative use of effects to radically transform the SA-2 sound, using Quinta Pitch Machine to transpose the original sound, Rymdigare to create movement, Weeping Wall to create loops and more.

Here’s what vekoni shared about the technical details:

The SA-2 has a violin and piano sound that works surprisingly well as an orchestral base — the rest is just finding the right effects to build on top of it.

Nembrini’s Quinta Pitch Machine sits first in the AUM chain but starts disengaged. As the piece progresses I switch between a low pitch setting for a fuller bass sound and a high pitch setting for melodic moments — both assigned to buttons on the Mvave Chocolate MIDI controller. Rymdigare follows – part reverb, part drone machine, with swelling tails and internal feedback that adds a lot of movement to the signal. Then Weeping Wall in macro loop mode — loops up to 60 seconds that slowly fade away, stacking layers that dissolve before they outstay their welcome. Eventide Blackhole at the end for the final wash of space.

Signal chain:
→ Casio SA-2 (modded with an output jack)
→ 3.5mm TS to 6.35mm cable
→ IK Multimedia iRig USB audio interface
→ iPhone — AUM as host

Inside AUM (in order):

  • Nembrini Quinta Pitch Machine (2 nodes set up to low and high pitch)
  • Rymdigare
  • Weeping Wall
  • Eventide Blackhole Reverb

Watch the video and share your thoughts in the comments!